You may recall that I presented a Chenango Sessions episode with Klezmer fiddler Alicia Svigals just a few months ago, featuring performances she recorded from home during the pandemic. But I was able to arrange a real live show with her just last week, in front of a small audience in Binghamton. It was Alicia's first in-person performance since March of 2020, and a first for me and most of the audience.

We start this week's show with a couple previous recordings of Alicia's. The first is "Kale-Kale Mazel Tov (Congratulations to the Brides)", from her 1997 album, "Fidl", which basically re-introduced the tradition of klezmer fiddling to modern audiences. After that, we hear "Market Day" from Alicia's most recent album, the Beregovski Suite, with pianist Uli Geissendoerfer.

Klezmer has traditionally been played by bands and small ensembles, as heard in the two opening recordings. During COVID, though, Alicia Svigals has had to improvise. She's been reinventing and adapting the style for solo violin, using the chords and rhythms of the ensemble. We'll hear the results of that today.

PLAYLIST:

00:00 - Svigals, Alicia. "Kale-Kale Mazel Tov (Congratulations to the Brides)". +
06:47 - Svigals, Alicia, & Uli Geissendoerfer. "Market Day". *
11:09 - Svigals, Alicia. "Naftule Spielt far dem Rebin" (Naftule Brandwein).
12:43 - Svigals, Alicia. (unknown title).
23:58 - Svigals, Alicia. "Ashreinu | Tati Un Mama Tants" (trad. | Andy Statman).
33:45 - Svigals, Alicia. "In Mein Stetl" (Moishe Oysher).
38:56 - Svigals, Alicia. "Levitt's Bulgar" (Marty Levitt).
43:07 - Svigals, Alicia. "Women of Our Family" (Kadia Molodowsky/Svigals).
49:33 - Svigals, Alicia. "Beregovski Suite (excerpt) | MacDowell Freilach" (trad. | Svigals).
56:25 - Svigals, Alicia. "Naftule Spielt far dem Rebin" (Naftule Brandwein).

+ From the album "Fidl" (1997).
* From the album "Beregovski Suite" (2018).